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It pretty much goes without saying – we absolutely ADORE a DIY wedding here on SMP. And when we first laid our eyes on this drop-dead gorgeous Lithgow affair, it was like a little piece of wedding heaven bursting straight from our computer screens. I’m talking dazzling blooms, uber-stunning gowns, sweet, sweet bunting and more (!) all lovingly crafted by the adorable bride and groom and their ah.mazing family. This, my friends, is what we call a serious DIY masterpiece and you can see every last labor of love captured by Dan Coyne Photography in the full gallery.

From the Bride… The wedding took place in our home town of Lithgow in New South Wales, Australia (very close to The Blue Mountains). The venue was an old mine. The ceremony was held on a lawn in the middle of the mine site, and the reception was in the Bath House (where the miners used to bathe). Huge union banners hang in the Bath House, so we incorporated these into the wedding theme.

We had a short engagement and a small budget, so we did pretty much everything ourselves. My mother made the dresses for me, my bridesmaids and the flower girls. My sister Ingrid designed the lace for my dress, which included little illustrations of things that I love — a teapot and tea cup, a book, a ball of wool with knitting needles, a locket with a “C” in the middle (for me and and my husband’s surnames) and a skull because “Bones” is my favourite TV show. The lace was then produced by a local lace maker and friend of the family. Ingrid also designed the stationery and put together the flowers.

The order of service was a surprise for Shannon and me. Ingrid had put old photos of us and little tidbits about the wedding preparation and the story of how Shannon and I got together. We made the bunting, pom poms, a sign for the flower girls to carry, table number flags, flags to go in the desserts and also decorated the reception venue. My sisters Emily and Penelope put together a great photo backdrop. My sister Ingrid bought vintage cutlery of Etsy and had them-stamped for us by a local blacksmith. We had little bags of lavender for people to throw on us as we walked back down the aisle. My dad married us (after he walked me down the aisle). A friend of the family did the catering, including a big sweets table. We borrowed vintage china from friends to use on the sweets table and on the tables with flowers in them. We had our friends and family collecting jars and old crystal for us before the wedding to use on the tables. It was a big DIY effort!